Darren Woods was born in Wichita, Kansas, in 1965, trained as an electrical engineer and earned an MBA before joining Exxon's downstream business in 1992. He became chairman and chief executive of ExxonMobil in 2017.
Under his leadership the company has continued to invest heavily in the long-cycle expansion of its Permian, Guyana and LNG assets while building one of the most ambitious low-carbon solutions divisions in the industry, with major commitments in carbon capture and storage, hydrogen and lithium for battery materials. He led the 2024 acquisition of Pioneer Natural Resources, the largest in the company's recent history.
Woods has become a defining public voice for the argument that energy transition will be longer and more capital-intensive than many policy frameworks assume, and that incumbents will be central to its execution.